Government must create positions at Codevasf to house allies – 05/19/2023 – Power

The Lula government (PT) should expand the superintendencies of Codevasf (Development Company of the São Francisco and Parnaíba Valleys) to accommodate allies and quell regional disputes for space in the state-owned company.

According to members of the government, parliamentarians and members of Codevasf, the plan is to duplicate the direction of the superintendencies of at least two states: Pernambuco and Minas Gerais.

In a note, the company confirmed that the expansion is under analysis and said that there is no estimate of costs or definitions of positions.

The initiative, according to Sheet he found out, it can still be reproduced at least in Goiás and Paraíba, the scene of feuds between parties that already form part of the government base or that the Planalto Palace seeks to attract.

With more positions in these regions, the government intends to respond to requests from parliamentarians from different parties who are going through a local struggle for the command of the state-owned company in the states.

Codevasf was delivered by then President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to the center and is maintained that way by Lula in exchange for support in Congress.

Discussions for positions take place at a time when an investigation is advancing on alleged corruption with funds from the state-owned company, which in the last government began to drain funds for amendments in paving works and machinery. In 2022, the Federal Police raised suspicions that a company paid bribes of BRL 250,000 to a company manager, as revealed by the Sheet.

Today there are 12 Codevasf superintendencies installed in 11 states, in addition to two others awaiting approval of new positions by Sest (Secretariat for the Coordination of State Companies), of the Ministry of Economy, to start operating in Fortaleza and João Pessoa.

It would not be new for Codevasf to have two superintendencies in the same state. In the case of Bahia, there is representation in Bom Jesus da Lapa and Juazeiro.

In Pernambuco, for example, the expanded Codevasf should have two offices: Petrolina and Recife. For the Recife regional command, a nominee from the PSB and the Republicans should be appointed, being responsible for 139 municipalities. A PT nominee should take over the Petrolina regional office, covering 46 other cities.

The Codevasf unit in Petrolina has been under the command of Aurivalter da Silva since 2016, who was a parliamentary advisor to Fernando Bezerra (MDB), former leader of the Senate in the Bolsonaro government.

During the Lula government, the Bezerra Coelho family clan, which also houses Federal Deputy Fernando Coelho and former Petrolina Mayor Miguel Coelho, both from União Brasil, already placed lawyer Henrique de Assis Coutinho Bernardes on one of the most coveted directorates of the federal state.

Since March, Bernardes has headed the Integrated Development and Infrastructure department at Codevasf, a sector coveted by parliamentarians for involving everything from the purchase of machinery, such as tractors, to paving works and the integration of the São Francisco River.

The leadership positions of Codevasf in Pernambuco are in a dispute involving deputy Silvio Costa Filho (Republicans), the political group led by the mayor of Recife, João Campos (PSB), and senator Humberto Costa (PT).

In Minas Gerais, the current superintendence is in Montes Claros and is headed by Marco Antonio Graça Câmara. His nomination includes a group of deputies from Minas Gerais such as Luis Tibé (leader of the Avante party), Fred Costa (leader of Patriota) and Luiz Fernando Faria (PSD), with the support of Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).

However, there is pressure from other parties to occupy the position, including deputy Paulo Guedes (PT-MG).

Given this, the government plans to open another superintendence in Belo Horizonte.

In the reading of Codevasf technicians, the expansion shows that the state-owned company has lost focus on meeting political interests.

This is because the regional arms of the state-owned company are being taken to places without irrigation projects. As an example, these technicians cite the change of the company’s headquarters in Alagoas de Penedo, inland, to the capital Maceió. This unit is commanded by Joãozinho Pereira (PP), cousin of the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

The Lula government decided to keep the engineer Marcelo Moreira in the presidency of the state-owned company, a name indicated in 2019 by the current leader of União Brasil in the Chamber, Elmar Nascimento (BA). Already part of the directors and superintendents was changed to remove Bolsonarists and house nominees of allies in the National Congress.

The rapporteur for the 2023 Budget, Senator Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI), put his son in charge of the state-owned company in Piauí, a position previously held by a nominee of Senator Ciro Nogueira (PP), Bolsonaro’s former Chief of Staff.